


Stellar Evolution

by Samsara



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Alternate Universe - Space, Amnesia, Comfort/Angst, Experimentation, Gen, M/M, Multi, Personification, Science Fiction, Self-Discovery, Soulmates, Space Stations, Stars
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-03-17
Updated: 2016-03-16
Packaged: 2018-05-27 05:25:17
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,414
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6271483
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Samsara/pseuds/Samsara
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Welcome to the Gateway.<br/>Here, we give all beings from across the universe a chance at a second life.<br/>Though your physical, cosmic form may now be nothing but ash, dust and gas floating in the eternal void that is space.<br/>We are here to offer your spirit a new life.<br/>There is nothing to fear.<br/>Live your life.<br/>But do not ask about your partner resident.<br/>Requesting access to your partner resident may result in immediate termination.</p>
<p>---</p>
<p>Subject Semi 8-A arrives at the Gateway with no recollection of who or what he is.<br/>Just that he is the remains of some celestial body after its destruction.<br/>All he knows is that he feels incomplete.<br/>A part of him is missing.<br/>Somewhere in this facility is another part of him that has to answers to just about everything.<br/>But no one's answering his questions.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Stellar Evolution

**Author's Note:**

> Hoooo boy.  
> Kinda been wanting to write something like this for a while.  
> Can't guarantee it'll be a frequent update but well.  
> If you've read my stuff in the past you'll know I have a sorta obsession with setters and guess what.  
> The four main characters of this fic are all setters.
> 
> Totally AU for this fic. If you want the easy summary: Space people.  
> Not aliens.  
> Space people. The personification of planets, stars, meteors, etc.
> 
> Enjoy!!

When stars explode, typically, they get brighter, and brighter and become beautiful glowing masses until the beauty is too much to be contained by a single entity. Eventually stars expand, explode and from their remains a new beauty is created. More stars. More creations. Planets. Nebulas. Gaseous Clouds of color. And according to the beliefs of many: life.

Living beings, according to many, are composed of the same material as stars. All in different amounts and balances, and personalities.

All different lives.

He blinks a few times as he feels fluids rushing past him, being sucked down a drain near his suspended feet. Gazing around, he takes a moment to comprehend just where he is. The first step at assessing his location is obvious: he’s in a tube. Glass walls surround him from the chest up, the lower half conveniently censored by a plastic outer shell to shield the glass as a means of modesty. His vision adjusts, momentarily washed over with green hues due to the fluid around him but becoming clear and a full spectrum once the colorless glass is more easily seen through. Damp hair falls to the sides of his head, and he raises a hand -- attached to cables and tubes seeming to be acting as a means of life support. He opens his mouth, prepared to ask where he is but words don’t seem to come to him just yet. Perhaps his voice box needs to remember how to function. He stares around, searching the room, noticing a few other tubes lining the room -- all with other people still floating in the viridian hued fluids. Moments pass before a woman approaches the tube, her voice muffled and hollow due to the glass.

“Oh. 8-A is awake.” He hears her say as he feels his feet touch the warm surface of the tube’s floor around him. She turns and approaches someone else in the circular shaped room who approaches him with a young man in a lab coat, hair silverish in color but with the faintest of orange shimmer to it. He smiles, warm, honey-colored eyes glowing as he presses a few visible buttons on the side of the tube. An airy hiss fills its occupants ears as the glass around him slides back, and he finds himself being handed a towel.

“Good morning, starshine.” the young man’s voice chimes, sounding friendly and inviting as he wraps the towel around the occupants waist. “I hope you slept well, Semi!”

He blinked as he felt the warm towel close over him, being encouraged to step out of the tube. The young man began to pluck the wires from his body, the sensation entirely painless. His legs wobbled as he lifted them; feeling weight was so foreign to him. The man in the labcoat helped him step out, holding his arms for balance. “Is that me? Semi?”

“Yes, it’s our nickname for you. Semi 8-A.” the young man said as someone brought over a plush bathrobe to put over him. “It’s just something cute we had in mind since your hair is two toned, see -- lavender and gray -- it’s very pretty!” He held up a mirror so Semi, as he was called, could look at himself.

He was quite the lovely young man. He bore a femininely shaped face, perhaps a little heart shaped -- no sharp angles to speak of, and soft cheekbones. His eyes were wide and bright, seeming to be irridescent and shifting from pink, to blue, to purple and silver and back again, depending on how he turned his head. His hair was indeed a pale shade of violet which slowly faded into dark grey which nearly matched his eyes. Something about the way he looked seemed to shimmer, as if there was a natural trail of sparkle coming off of him.

“I’m pretty.” he said quietly, now adjusting to the manner of his tongue resting within his mouth. He couldn’t find a comfortable place for it, but he supposed eventually he would find something adequate. “I’m -- not sure what I am.”

“You’re one of us.” the young man said as he slipped an arm around Semi’s shoulders -- despite being quite a bit shorter -- guiding him off to the side. Semi’s wobbling legs stepped slowly, feeling as if he had been on bedrest for quite some time, finding the cold linoleum of the floor to be both a blessing and a curse. That tube had been so warm and cozy and though the cool surface felt refreshing, it also chilled him to the bone. “Oh, how silly.” Semi’s head twisted, feeling everything creak, knowing that he would eventually work out the stiffness. The young man smiled warmly, his eyes seeming to crinkle faintly, making a small mole by his eye stand out. “I’m Doctor Sugawara, but since we’re being familiar, you have my permission to refer to me as Koushi, if you’d like. I’m here to oversee your assimilation.”

“Assimilay--Assimilation?” The words sounded strange on Semi’s still uncomfortable tongue, trying to make sense of how to pronounce the term.

“Yes, you see --” A circular door opened up, sliding away to reveal a long corridor with glass paneled walls and ceilings doming overhead, revealing nothing but blackness around them on all sides. Peering out past the glass, Semi could see various add-ons to the structure with other such windows with lights shining overhead, and people traversing inside. “You’ve arrived at an outpost known as the Gateway because you have nowhere else to go. We’re something of an autonomous sanctuary for Celestials, and if you’re confused, don’t worry, I’ll get to explaining soon enough.”

Sugawara guided Semi through the brightly lit glass hallway, nodding at a few other individuals in labcoats heading toward the room Semi had woken up in. Sugawara’s smile had become something practically mournful as he started to punch in numbers upon another circular door, seeming to need clearance to enter the next portion. “You see, Semi. This is a home for the misplaced.”

The door rolled to the side, and before the two of them lay what appeared to be an enormous courtyard, full of people of all shapes, sizes and colors, wandering around from place to place. Artificial sunlight beamed down over the atrium of people who meandered about, tending to each other, plants and animals that explored the layout. Around the courtyard were balconies, raising high up into an illusionary sky where people leaned over the edge or went about their lives. A truly welcome sensation of peace, and calm washed over Semi as Sugawara gestured to what lay before them. “All of what you see before you, are people like yourself, who have lost what had once made you celestial body. And here, we offer you homes, happiness, and above all -- hope, so each and every one of you can keep on living.”

As Semi looked over the wide atrium of people, noticing the corridors that seemed to span out in every direction, he had the impression of this being somewhere between a shopping mall and a living facility. But either way it was pleasant and inviting and Semi was overcome with a feeling of comfort as he watched the people -- all seeming to be shimmering or emitting auras similar to his own -- going about their lives. Sugawara’s hand on his back pushed him along and he continued to walk with him, hearing the sound of the scientists(?) amusement at Semi’s awe at the locale.

“So...what am I?” Semi asked quietly as he glanced back to the atrium as Sugawara directed him down another hallway. “What you said doesn’t really answer anything.”

“That’s what we’ve yet to figure out, Semi.” Sugawara said with a smile as he directed Semi over to a series of elevators. “Typically we discover that right as someone arrives at our center, but you’ve proven to be interesting. We have your chemical makeup, but we don’t exactly know precisely what you are just yet, but you’ve woken up, so we should have an idea soon.” Semi’s expression fell as the elevator opened up as Sugawara guided him inside the glass encased room.

“That isn’t reassuring.” Semi uttered quietly. “How am I supposed to know who I am?”

“None of us ever know who we are.” Sugawara replied, voice chipper as he pressed the button to take the elevator to another part of the craft. “The fun of it all is getting to discover who we are together.”

Semi concluded that it sounded fake, but he allowed Sugawara to go about with his beliefs. “Where are going?” he asked quietly, watching as the elevator rose higher up, the atrium below becoming smaller and smaller.

“We’ve got a place set up for you. We have homes made for all our new residents. We want everyone to be comfortable here.” Sugawara said as the elevator began to slow down.

“What are you?” he asked Sugawara, as the doors opened, allowing them to exit and some other residents to step on. The scientist glanced back with a small smile.

“Dwarf planet.” He said warmly. “A meteor collided with my surface and destroyed my physical form, so I arrived here.” Sugawara’s voice seemed only faintly forlorn, apparently having made peace with his physical death. “Theoretically I was one of the first arrivals here, but I can’t be sure. Time here is strange and partly non-linear. You’ll notice some of our residents will speak to you as if you’ve already met and become friends, and the next day it will appear to be your first meeting. It can be disorienting, but you’re become acclimated to those sorts of scenarios before you know it.”

It didn’t make any sense whatsoever to Semi as he followed after Sugawara, noticing how the hallway they had now entered was curved, circular to match the shape of the building. Doors were on either side of the hallway, some clearly overlooking the atrium beneath, but some appeared to be facing the other direction. “Do some people not have balconies?” he asked, realizing he’d gone off topic.

“Oh, no. There are multiple atriums. Everyone has a balcony view. Perhaps not off this courtyard, that you saw coming out, but on other ones.” Koushi hummed pleasantly as he stopped Semi in front of a door, a small numeric pad appearing near the handle which he began to press numbers into. “Yes, some people overlook arctic courtyards, others are deserts or forests. Typically room assignment and courtyard below reflects your own personal preferences. I’ve heard the beach atrium is the busiest.” The door chimed, indicating an accepted password.

“ _ Welcome 8-A. _ ” An automated voice spoke as Sugawara entered the facility, allowing Semi to enter inside.   
  
It was pristinely white. As Semi walked in he found himself with a door to either side of him. One was clearly to a restroom (he didn’t quite understand what a restroom was just yet, but a few hours later he would become painfully aware of an organ known as a bladder and would need some assistance in relieving the pressure it caused) and the other side was a modest looking kitchen lined with counter tops and a small dining table. (Again Semi did not know what a kitchen was for, but he’d find his system suddenly suggesting he consume something and he’d quickly learn that hunger was an essential need). Upon each counter top was a different appliance, the uses that Semi would not quite figure out immediately, but most were absolutely necessary for cooking and reheating meals. Stepping further into the white interior, Semi found himself standing in quite the open room. Furnished with a couch, coffee table, several chairs and what appeared to be a simple entertainment system, it was clearly a living space in which he could see himself getting comfortable in. Off to the left of the living space was a bedroom, with only a double bed with immaculate, colorless bedding, a dresser and a nightstand.   
  
It was only when Semi took another moment to examine the living space that he noticed the slight warping to the furthest wall, and the realization there weren’t any windows in the place. “Ah!” Sugawara said as he stepped into the room, pressing his hand to the wall to reveal a small, touch screen control panel. “We can see what atmosphere you’ll be overlooking.” As he pressed a few tabs on the panel, the warping became like water that had been dipped in and the white of the wall cleared away to reveal that the entire wall was in fact a giant window with a pair of glass French doors leading towards a curved balcony.

The balcony in question overlooked an early evening sky. It appeared to be just seconds after a sun had dipped beyond the horizon, leaving the pale glow of day behind at the edge of the sky. The glass of the window was speckled with flecks of raindrops, (“Ah, the weather cycle just changed.” Sugawara commented quietly.) but overhead, the early evening sky was alight with glowing ribbons that decorated overhead.   
  
“ . . .Aurora borealis?” Semi commented as he stood up against the window, hand pressed gently to the glass as his gaze dropped to the display beneath them. It was a quiet, field-like landscape (still decorated with seating and recreational activities), almost ideal for stargazing up at the aubergine sky overhead. “ . . .Pretty.”

“It matches you.” Sugawara humored him, approaching Semi as he handed him a small, plastic card. “This is going to be your home now, Semi. This card has all your information stored on it, and can be used to get into this residence if you forget your passcode to enter it. I know --” He noticed a little look of confusion on Semi’s face, perhaps at something other than what he was about to address. “What if I know my passcode and I lose my card? There’s a security measure that if there is someone in here, and you lose your card and someone tries to use it, the residence won’t allow them in without your approval. It’s a wonderful security measure.” A smile graced his lips as he stepped past Semi and began to head toward the door. “You can get settled in in a bit, alright?”   
  
Semi remained still momentarily, staring out the glass wall again at the view waiting for him beyond it. There was something melancholic about the atmosphere outside. The way the aurora rippled like a streamer in the artificial sky, leaving traces of color in its wake. The twinkle of what appeared to be stars gleaming overhead, and the gentle embrace of the faux horizon clutching the night sky. He didn’t think he liked it, as beautiful as it was. It tugged at his heartstrings, stirring up waves of anxiety that he eagerly tried to swallow. His tongue felt even more uncomfortable now.   
  
“We’ve got a few more stops before I can take you to pick out some clothing, oh, and if you don’t like white furniture, there’s options to change the displays and decor.”   
  
Semi followed along after Sugawara, suddenly aware of his existence. It had made sense to him that he was a displaced celestial body, but he had very little explanation of precisely what  _ sort _ of body he was or how his original form had been destroyed. From what he gathered as he followed the scientist around, was that many people had stopped worrying about what they used to be and had settled into new lives. That would be fine for Semi, it really would have been. But there was the little issue at hand of him not knowing who or what he was. He was lacking recollection of his previous form and previous life, but no one he heard Sugawara speak to on their little tour seemed to harbor the same distress.   
  
He concluded very quickly that he was an anomaly. Even for the personification of cosmic entities.

 

On their tour, Sugawara showed Semi where he could stock up on food (according to the young scientist, the food wasn’t exactly real, as cosmic bodies don’t need to eat, but since they were adopting a humanoid -- some species from a planet called Earth, apparently they were easiest to create -- traits, they would have the ghosting need to eat and excrete bodily waste) as well as toiletries and cleaning supplies for maintaining his residence. After that, Sugawara guided him to what seemed to be an entertainment ward where Semi could pick up various books (all hailing from various galaxies and species throughout the universe) as well as movies, games, music and similar forms of entertainment. Among the ward were craft and athletic shops as well, if Semi so chose to take up a hobby.

The two of them passed many various places, finally stopping at a ward that supplied clothing of various styles and trends, to which Sugawara allowed Semi to pick a few things out -- only to watch as the subjects tastes revealed some very strange options (floral t-shirt and lavender colored slim-fit pants? Tank top shirts with sequin style sleeves and leggings with arrow designs? Very odd indeed according to the scientist). Semi was permitted to select a number of articles of clothing which would be delivered to his residence later that day.

  
“For your first six weeks here,” Sugawara said, laughing a little bit, making a joke about time being an illusion. “I will be on-call practically all the time. There will be a welcome kit in your apartment with a telephone which you should carry with you at all times. My contact information is already stored on there. If you need me for anything, I will be ready at any given moment.” Sugawara said as to Semi as he carried a small parcel, containing some food for Semi, as well as basic essentials. “Every scientist in the gateway is only assigned to two individuals at a time, so as long as I am not with my other resident, I am at your beck and call for the first few weeks. My other resident at the moment has only been active for a week, and he’s become somewhat independent already, so I should be available for you more often than not.”

“. . .Can I meet him?” Semi asked, a brow raised as Sugawara took the lead as the elevator they had been riding in stopped at the appropriate floor. “Your other resident.” It was a rather sudden question for Semi to be asking, finding himself surprised he’d even suggested something like that. He had been alive (alive? Was that even the right word?) for only a few hours now, but there was something intriguing about meeting someone new already. It excited him. “I’d like to.” Sugawara stopped at the front of the door to Semi’s apartment, encouraging him to take out the card he’d been given to slide it in the same pinpad that hovered over the doorknob.   
  
“I’m not allowed to arrange meetings between my residents. I’m under orders to allow you the freedom to decide your own bonds.” Sugawara said as Semi successfully swiped the card through the reader. “I’m not allowed to influence your free will, it’s part of the code I’m sworn to, you see.”   
  
“Can I know his name then? Or what he looks like?” Semi asked as Sugawara handed him the parcel as they stepped inside. “Or which residence --”

“ _No._ ”   
  
Sugawara’s pleasant tone quickly diminished as the door to the apartment closed behind him. The rosy-peach aura that had been fluttering off of him slipped away, being replaced by something akin to pewter. His smile had vanished and the way he presented himself drastically changed, causing Semi to freeze in his place as he set the box upon one of the counters of the kitchen. Sugawara’s eyes narrowed, turning into thin, golden slits, suggesting something practically sinister. Semi’s tongue swelled within his mouth and he became accustomed quite quickly to the sensation of swallowing it and eating his words. He felt chilled for the first time since he arrived in the Gateway. It was a new feeling for him. It wasn’t one of the cheerful, pleasant ones that he had already found himself enjoying during his first waking hours. He had discovered something menacing. He discovered fear.   
  
The lump he had begun to swallow got stuck halfway in his throat as Semi nodded slowly, realizing that it was probably safest to accept not to ask any further questions. “I understand.” He said firmly as he opened the box and began removing the contents to set upon the counter, as if obeying an unspoken command. It was no sooner that the atmosphere relaxed again and Sugawara’s face brightened up into a smile that seemed to be much more inviting.   
  
“Fantastic, now come here, let me show you how to customize your interior!”

  
  


It was shortly after Sugawara had to teach Semi about his bodily functions that he was finally left alone. He’d concluded very quickly that the need to use the restroom was incredibly unpleasant, as was the realization of hunger. For the time being, the kitchen was equipped to make meals for Semi, until he found himself capable of doing it on his own. He was still new to this world, and so cooking seemed entirely out of the question. Semi now understood only a few things.

First, using the restroom was both unpleasant but very satisfying. Second, consuming food was also unpleasant but very satisfying. And third, he knew very little.

With Sugawara gone, Semi found himself strolling back to the glass wall of the apartment, watching the ribbons of green in the sky flicker and grow hazy in their cycle. He half wondered if they were projected, something artificial created by this place. After all, in lieu of the third thing he understood: as far as he could ascertain everyone in this facility was something of a simulation. He was the soul of something, given a new physical body now that his original form had been decimated. Hands were a new concept to him, although easy to use, he knew that he had never had to use them before. Arms and legs too. The mere notion of having limbs and being required to use them was almost unheard of, but he supposed that once he was given this new form, he had been pre-programmed so to speak, to know how to use these new attachments.

He could have easily changed the design of the pale interior from its default shades of white, teetering on the blueish edge. But he couldn’t really bring himself to. Something about the blank color scheme felt fitting. Perhaps it was due to his lack of knowledge. He was sure as time progressed, he would eventually settle on a layout, but for the time being. It would remain blank like him. 

Semi sank on to the plush cushion of the couch, his gaze still drawn toward the wisps outside. A heaviness had come over him that almost struck him as being melancholic. There was an ache in his chest that almost felt like heartbreak. That is if he had ever known heartbreak before. Emotions, like limbs, were new to Semi. At least he supposed they were. There was genuinely familiarity with every sensation he comprehended. Although it seemed most of the emotions he was discovering were that of curiosity, confusion and newly found fear. Sugawara appeared joyous, other than his moment of horror, and Semi found himself looking forward to being able to experience that for himself.

But as he gazed out at the streams of light in the fake sky out in the atrium, Semi realized the term he was searching for was sadness. The gentle light of, and the soft sounds of voices from the floors below brought to light a painful twinge of loneliness.

Semi stared down at his hands, noting the faint glow of his skin -- delicate hues of violet, floated like smoke, leaving trails of shimmering dust in their wake. Whatever he was, he certainly had a natural shine on him, like most things out in the cosmos. He was a lovely being, that much was for sure. What he was capable of, however, was up for debate.

Semi 8-A, or Eita, as he would come to be called was a curious arrival in the interstellar community known as the Gateway. One of the many daily arrivals, but only one of a handful that were lacking recollection of their previous life within the universe. Though he was unaware as to why or how he had been selected to join the community of the Gateway, others knew precisely what it was about Semi 8-A that made him so unique.

 

As Semi’s hands collected the trail of shimmering dust that radiated off of him, a pair of eyes elsewhere in the Gateway snapped open. Diamond-like eyes, transitioning from shades of violet to blue and back again opened as their owner sat upright in a double bed, decorated with the swirling patterns of spiral galaxies as its print. Dark hair, nearly black at the roots and fading into shades of brown, then red and finishing at its whirled tips in a peach-like shade of pink, bobbed as he looked around, noticing the soft wisps of pink and white trailed from his palms like sweet trails of smoke from incense.

He was subject O 2-R, named Oikawa Tooru. Another arrival with minimal recollection of who he had been in his life prior. He had felt empty, perhaps even incomplete since his awakening at the Gateway.

And suddenly, he felt very,  _ very _ whole.

He clutched at his chest, feeling a fluttering within his heart that he nearly told himself was the sensation of falling in love. But it was much stronger, much more powerful. He fell back into his bed, staring up at the ceiling which he had designed to look like the same sky that hung outside in the atrium of Semi 8-A’s apartment. The fluttering rippled through him, flooding his arms and legs and settling in his fingers and toes with a fuzziness that perhaps was more of a warm, energizing tingle.

Oikawa Tooru, Subject O 2-R had felt as if something had been missing from him since his arrival. And as his body grew heavy with the warmth from this realization, he concluded that whatever it was he was missing had just arrived.

He just had to find it.


End file.
